Search warrants reveal new details in police corruption case

Published: Monday, March 11, 2013 at 05:11 PM.

Search warrants that describe past corruption within the Cherryville Police Department allege misconduct reaching to top positions in the department.

Previously sealed, the search warrants used to raid the Police Department in October were opened this year.

The 22-page document accuses the former Cherryville police chief and his second-in-command of covering up crimes committed by a police officer.

Former police Chief Woody Burgess and former police Capt. Mike Allred both resigned from the department in the wake of the FBI raid last fall.

FBI agents swarmed the department on East Church Street on a sunny day in October. Boxes, computers and evidence bags were carried away, and six Cherryville men were arrested — four with ties to local law enforcement.

Both Burgess and Allred were suspended with pay that day. Neither was charged.

Burgess, a 10-year veteran of the department, resigned a week after the arrests rocked the department. But Allred, who joined the force in 2003, stayed on paid suspension until Jan. 10, when he too resigned.

Search warrants that describe past corruption within the Cherryville Police Department allege misconduct reaching to top positions in the department.

Previously sealed, the search warrants used to raid the Police Department in October were opened this year.

The 22-page document accuses the former Cherryville police chief and his second-in-command of covering up crimes committed by a police officer.

Former police Chief Woody Burgess and former police Capt. Mike Allred both resigned from the department in the wake of the FBI raid last fall.

FBI agents swarmed the department on East Church Street on a sunny day in October. Boxes, computers and evidence bags were carried away, and six Cherryville men were arrested — four with ties to local law enforcement.

Both Burgess and Allred were suspended with pay that day. Neither was charged.

Burgess, a 10-year veteran of the department, resigned a week after the arrests rocked the department. But Allred, who joined the force in 2003, stayed on paid suspension until Jan. 10, when he too resigned.

Both men are listed in the search warrant written by a federal agent who led an investigation of the department.

The men are accused of turning a blind eye to blatant misconduct by officers, dismissing charges against Cherryville officers and ostracizing or demoting officers who spoke out against the corruption.

Feds step in

According to the search warrants, state and federal agents heard the name Frankie Dellinger as far back as 2007.

Then a detective with the Cherryville Police Department, Dellinger’s name dropped from the lips of at least one person who accused the detective of shaking him down during a traffic stop. In that instance, Dellinger allegedly found money and marijuana on the person. According to the report, Dellinger seized the cash but never wrote a property receipt or issued charges.

A homeowner and business owner also made complaints, saying that Dellinger stole property from them — property that was only returned when superior officers ordered it.

Those reports and complaints often fell on deaf ears, according to search warrants.

The federal investigator requested the search warrant saying access to documents, ledgers and computers would help trace the misdeeds by Dellinger and determine how involved his superiors were with his actions.

Dellinger was indicted in October and pleaded guilty in federal court in January to conspiracy, money laundering and two counts of extortion.

The charges resulted from a sting operation by federal agents that began in 2012. But according to the search warrant documents, Dellinger was the reason for the initial probe.

Corruption uncovered

A fellow police officer reported Dellinger in 2007 for allegedly stealing more than 100 tires from a truck – even putting a set on his personal vehicle.

According to the search warrant, Burgess was informed about Dellinger’s actions.

The report says Allred handled the matter and put the tires into evidence, but that four of the tires eventually found their way back onto Dellinger’s vehicle.

The officer involved in the initial report sent the matter to the District Attorney where it was later dismissed, the investigator states.

It wasn’t until the officer threatened to call the SBI that tires came off permanently, according to the search warrants.

Dellinger is also accused of stealing more than $50,000 in jewelry from a Cherryville home, falsifying charges against a man and helping suspects flee during police pursuits.

Disposing of cases

The federal agent who drafted the search warrant wrote about various complaints from inside and outside the department.

He wrote that his investigation was assisted by an officer who left the department because of corruption and one who stayed but passed along information.

According to the documents, speaking up under Burgess’s watch was frowned upon.

One officer told the federal agent that he was alienated because of his stance in the matter. Another patrol officer who pushed for charges against Dellinger was demoted to dispatcher.

On a few occasions, Burgess instructed Allred to investigate Dellinger, the search warrant states.

“Agents learned during the initial investigation that Assistant Chief Allred was assigned the prior internal investigations involving misconduct and criminal activity by Detective Dellinger. Reliable sources reported that Allred and Chief Burgess disposed of these cases without referring them to any prosecuting authority,” the report states.

Gaston County District Attorney Locke Bell said he remembers dismissing drug cases in Cherryville — a practice that is not uncommon, he said.

Often, officers will call to have drug cases dismissed because the suspect has agreed to become a confidential informant, said Bell.

Bell said he never got any direct instruction to look at a particular Cherryville detective. But when he was notified about possible missing city money, Bell said he contacted the SBI.

Missing money

Then Interim City Manager Jeff Cash noticed some unusual money practices during his brief time holding the position, the search warrant says.

Some of the city’s dollars were used to purchase illegal narcotics for the police department’s drug investigations, according to the report.

There were no records filed at City Hall to show what was purchased with the money. Such documents were likely kept within the police department.

The investigator wrote in the report that he believed the money was misused.

During Dellinger’s tenure at the department only he and Allred had access to drug money.

Only Allred and Burgess had access to the evidence room.

The FBI got search warrants rather than asking for the documentations to avoid any possibility that evidence would be tampered with.

Burgess didn’t respond well to the initial inquiry, according to the search warrant.

“A current supervisor at the N.C. SBI was informed that Chief Burgess threatened that he/she would be removed from the CPD should he/she ever enter the premises.”

Activity leads to sting

Dellinger was never charged or convicted of the crimes described in the search warrant application.

Though accusations against Dellinger date back more than five years, the 41-year-old Cherryville man never faced legal action for them.

“… There are several incidents wherein Detective Dellinger was involved in alleged criminal activity and police reports were made regarding the incidents, yet the cases were closed with no adverse finding towards Dellinger and/or the prosecution was dismissed,” the FBI agent wrote in his report.

But Dellinger fell into a trap set by FBI agents in 2012, and he didn’t go down alone.

Dellinger and five other Cherryville men dove headfirst into a chance to transport stolen goods and accept bribes in the process.

Each has pleaded guilty in what turned out to be a federal setup.

Other men involved in the crime ring were Mark Ray Hoyle, Casey Justin Crawford, Wesley Clayton Golden, John Ashley Hendricks and David Paul Mauney III.

Crawford and Mauney were full-time Cherryville patrol officers at the time.

Dellinger pleaded guilty to more charges than his co-defendants and has the potential to serve the most time in prison of the six men. They have yet to be sentenced.

Moving forward

Cherryville has leaned on Gaston County to fill the gaps left in its police department since last fall.

But the department is ready to be self-sufficient and regain the public’s trust, said Cherryville City Manager Ben Blackburn.

The department has a new chief, Chad Hawkins, but needs a captain and two patrol officers to fill the voids from the scandal.

Despite the issues of the past within the police department, Blackburn said he hasn’t looked at any policy changes.

Blackburn said if employees know their job and lead by example, things should run smoothly.

Another shoe to drop?

Blackburn was not in charge when allegations of corruption at City Hall and the police department came to light. He’s dealt with the aftermath. He remains optimistic.

“Cherryville is moving forward. Our utmost goal is to regain the public trust and in doing so we want to put the right people in the right positions,” he said.

Murmurings around town for months have pointed fingers at top dogs in Cherryville’s police department, and many people feel another shoe is destined to drop.

The FBI seized a truckload of files, records and computer drives. It remains to be seen if other officials will face a federal judge.

You can reach reporter Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.